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NAACP Warns Passengers About Traveling on American

NBC 6 Reporter Steve Litz explains how the NAACP is warning passengers about traveling with American Airlines.

(Published Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017)

The NAACP says it is issuing a travel advisory urging caution for travelers flying American Airlines over concerns about a series of reported incidents that indicate "troublesome conduct" from company employees.

The incidents, the national organization said in a press release Tuesday, "suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias on the part of American Airlines."

The reported incidents cited in the NAACP press release range from an African-American passenger having their seating assignment changed without their knowledge to an African-American passenger and her infant child being removed from a New York-to-Atlanta flight after she "asked that her stroller be retrieved from checked baggage before she would disembark."

The advisory was issued Tuesday and will last indefinitely, the organization says.

“We are disappointed to hear about this travel advisory as our team members – a diverse community of gate agents, pilots, and flight attendants – are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds," airline spokeswoman Stephanie Gilson said in a response.

“With that said, we understand there is more to do," she said. "We will invite representatives of the NAACP to meet with our team at our headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas."